Theatrical illusion device.



s. GOLDINI. THEATRICAL ILLUSION DEVICE. `APPLICATION FILED JUNE 26,1915.

1,178,444. f Patented Apr. 4, 1916.

WITNESS N VEN TOR THB coLuMBlA PLANOORAPH C0.. wAsl-IINQIQNy D. C.

' Live-,eea

s'iErHEN GLDINI, "0E NEW YEK, N. fr.

THEATEICAL ILLi'JsIoN` DEVICE.

.To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, STEPHEN GoLniNi, a

Y 'citizen of the United States, residing inthe city lof New York, borough of lvlanhattaii,l

county and State of New York, havefinvented a certain new anduseful Theatrical Illusion Device, of whichthea following is ka specification. v

This invention is a theatrical illusion de-Vl vice, and the object ofv theinvention is to;

f provide a device by which a Vtheatrical artist pliance rstated as embodying a mat or matson which is enabled to carryk on theatrical flashlight dancing through the use of either'an alternating or a direct electric current.

Devices have heretofore been suggested to; Y allow of flashlight dancing of the'gene'ral character of the present invention, but the' Great disadvantage inherent in all of these devices is that they are adapted for use with direct current electricity only, y they being of such character that it isy impossible to give a perforinanceywhich will be acceptable to an. audience.

current electricity only, employing such equipped with alternating current, their field of usefulness current. r

`With the' rent, and the invention Vmay be broadly;`

` the dancer treads, the tread vsurface of which matl orl mats is provided with a plurality of upstanding wires on which fthe artist treads"A These upstand-w i during the actlof ydancing,v ing wires of the one or more mats are elec-V trically connected with a source fof electrica] current, either'direct or alternating, so that, when an operator treads. upon the surface of the mat with metallic-soled shoes, a cir-` cuit is completed, Vwith the Vresult that elec-v tric flashes are produced. y

In one of its practicalfforms, the invention embodies a mat in the form of woven wire mesh, into which wire mesh is inter- .y

, woven a myriad of small wires which extend upwardly from .one surface'of the mesh sof' that the appearance' of said surface resem#y bles that of` a wire brush. V.forinsthe Vpled up in series,

As many theaters and playhouses are equipped 4with alternating* the managers of acts. prior art devices are pre'k cluded from playing insuch houses pas, are.y

being limited only to-y such playhouses as are provided `with directjforegoing disadvantages in mind, the present invention embodies an ap#y which allows of the performance of. an act either .with direct or alternating cur-j' alternating,

Specification of Letters Patent. Patentgd Apr.' 4c 191% Application filed June 26, 1915. Serial No. 3',437. l y

backedup with suitable'insulating material so that, when laiduponv a stage or-platform, the current will not be dissipated.

, Featuresof lthe invention, other than those specified, will beapparent from the-'herein-VV jafter vdetailed description ltaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated different practical embodiments of the invention, but the constructions shown therein are to bev understood as illus-y trative, only, and not as defining the limits of the invention. y

Figure lis a diagrammatic View showing the manner in which two mats made according .to the present' invention may be coui the circuit to be completed through metallic-soled y shoes' electrically connected. Fig. 2 isa detail section greatly 3V is detailelevation Ofone of the current carrying units before assembling. Fig. 4 shows the `saine unit bent to secure the saine tothe body ,ofr the mat, and Fig. 5 illustrates'. a modified 'form ofthe invention wherein onlyonemat is necessary.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly Figs. l to nate apair of coperatin mats. In this yembodiment ofthe invention, each mat is provided with a basein the dform of lcoarse woven wire mesh a, shown in detail in Fig."`

2. The base is bound around its edges' with suitable binding a. and its bottom is cov- ,ered with any'suitable insulating material B.

At intervals throughout the mesh a, small lengths of wire c, shown inFig. 3, are in- Qterwoven into the lmesh a. VIn Vforming the4 istructure :.sh'ownin the drawings, units c of U'-shape form'are'passed from oneV side vof the )mesh 4@through theinterspaced ogenvings thereof, and `arefgiven a twist, after the manner shown in Figs. 2 and 4, to secure them to the mesh. Any number ofv these runits may befemployed, but it is preferable that. a myriad ofthem'are secured'to the meshso lthat the upper surface thereof resembles the bristling surface of a wire brush. Y

VThe mats thus 'formed are connected with 'an electric circuit'- D fed from a suitable source of electrical supply, either direct or Y U and inj circuit D is included a suitable resistance herein shown as a plu- 4, inclusive, A andAf desig-y 'neaa Surface or the. mit. said met is' enlarged, taken on line 9;-2 of Fig. 1. Fig..

ioo

rality of lamps d. rlhe mats A and A thus constitute the electrodes of circuit D.

)In carrying out a performance on the mats described, the artist is equipped with a pair of metallic-soled shoes e which are electrically connected with one another through the mediumv of suitable wiring e which extends from one shoe, up the corresponding leg of the operator, anddown the other leg to the other shoe. This wire is, of course, concealed from the audience by incasing the same within the stockings, or in any other suitable manner.

vWhen an artist wearing the shoes described dances with one foot on each mat, it will be manifest that, when both feet are connected with both mats, a circuit from electric circuit D will be completed through the shoes of the artist and the connecting wire c. 1When the artist removes one or both feet from the mats, the circuit Will, of course, be broken, and the resistance Z is suflicient to cause an arc to be made when either one or both feet leave the mat. rlhe current in circuit D is of considerable magnitude, As the artist carries on the act of dancing, and particularly as one of the metallic-soled shoes is in the act of leaving the mat, said shoe, having slightly vdepressed the wires c upon its downward tread, will leave said wires in succession, i. e., the shoe will not leave all of the wires at the sameY time, but, as the foot is raised, fewer and fewer wires will engage withthe sole of the shoe, in an indirect ratio to the distances which the foot takes in leaving the mat. As stated, the current in the circuit D is considerable, and it will thus be apparent that, as fewer wires contact with the shoe, the amount of current which these wires must carry necessarily increases and becomes greater thansaid wires can carry, so that, when the shoe leaves said wires, a bright electric flash will ensue and small particles at the very extremities of the wires will burst. This results as the foot leaves the mat, in large number of electric flashes and flying sparks which resemble greatly the sparks which i'iy off an anvil when white hot metal is struck a heavy blow, and, manifestly, this will be the case when either direct or alternating electric currents are employed.

0f course, thewires c, which form the current carrying units as described, become, after continued use, flattened down to some extent, but this does not diminish the eiliciency of the mats for the reason that the shoe, as it leaves the mat, will even then do so with diminishing point areas, which is ventirely suiiicient to produce such results as have never been heretofore attainable. Wires c are, however, preferably resilient and return to upstanding position when the shoe is removed therefrom.

It may be here stated that it is not absolutely essential for the shoe to entirely leave the mat to produce the electrical effects referred to, as it is found in practice that the mere scraping of the shoe over the surface of the mat is conducive to these effects. rihis is in marked contrast to devices heretofore employed wherein it was absolutely essential for the foot to leave the mat to produce any flash whatsoever.

The embodiment of the invention hereinbefore described is that which l generally prefer to employ, although l may, if desired, instead of providing two mats, use a single mat constructed in the manner shown in Fig. 5. In this form of the invention, a base of insulating material l? is provided, and upon this base is positioned two interlocking spiral bands f f formed after the manner in which mats A A are made. rlhe the distances between the convolutions of 'the bands f f, with the result that the circuit is closed therebetween, through the soles of the shoes. This mat may be made any size desired, so that the artist is free to cover considerable space, as in dancing about a stage. lt will be understood that the electric circuit D is fed from a suitable source of electrical energy and embodies suitable resistance, after the manner shown in circuit D of the preferred embodiment of the invention.

rThroughout the foregoing description and in the accompanying drawings, l have disclosed the preferred manner of producing a mat provided with a bristling surface, but it will be understood that this disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only, and that l: consider the invention as broadly novel as commensurate with the appended claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

'1. In an appliance for electrical dancing, an electrode provided with a bristling, electrically conductive tread surface, in combination with electrical connections therewith adapted to supply current of sufficient strength to produce Adisruptive discharges of the current upon the making or breaking of the current at the electrode.

2. In an appliance for electrical dancing, an electrode provided with a metallic base and a bristling metallic tread surface of sufiicient size to permit of dancing thereon.

3. In an appliance for electrical dancing, an electrode of suiiicient` size to permit of dancing thereon7 embodying a metallic base provided with a multiplicity of small metallic protubera-nces on its tread surface. Y

LvIn an appliance for electrical dancing, an electrode providedon its tread surface with small, upstanding, metallic projections, and electrical connections therewith adapted to supply current of sufficient strength to produce disruptive discharges of the current upon the making or breaking of the circuit at the electrode.

5. In an appliance for electrical dancing, an electrode provided with a metallic base, and small wires interwoven into said base, the free ends of which project above the tread surface of the base whereby a bristling surface is produced, in combination with electrical connections with said bristling surface, which connections are adapted to supply electrical lcurrent of sufficient strength to produce disruptive discharges of the current upon-the making or breaking of the circuit at the electrode.

6. In an appliance for electrical dancing an electrode provided with an uneven tread surface whereby an operator, when standing upon the tread surface of the electrode, engages the saine in a series of point contacts, in combination with electrical connections Vwith said point contacts, which connections are adapted to vsupply current of sufiicient strength to produce disruptive discharges of the current `upon the making or breaking ofthe circuitV at said contacts.

7 In an appliance for electrical dancing@v vthe combination of a pair of electrodes of opposite polarity, each ofwhich electrodes is provided with an uneven tread surface, an electric circuit in communication with said electrodes, said circuit being adapted to' 4supply current of sufficient strength to produce disruptive discharges of the current upon the making or breakingof the circuit at the electrodes, metallic-soledshoes, and means for electrically connecting said shoes whereby a circuit is completed through the shoeswhen an operatorfstands upon the tread surface of the electrodes, and broken when onel orboth shoes leave the surface of their corresponding electrodes.`

In testimony vwhereof I have signed my name to this specification.

VSTEPHEN GoLDiNi.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for 've cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

